Raggedy Ann and Andy: The Little Witch Adventure
by Punk Rock Angel
Summary: Does anyone remember the Raggedy Ann & Andy cartoon on CBS way back in the '80s on Saturday morning? I loved that show! This story is of what may have happened if it hadn't been aimed at so young an audience. Features old and new characters. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1: I Wanna Be A Witch!

Author's Disclaimer  
  
Raggedy Ann and Andy and all related characters are the property of Johnny Gruelle and the CBS network.  
  
The Adventures of Raggedy Ann & Andy The Little Witch Adventure  
  
Featuring:  
  
Raggedy Ann~Raggedy Andy~Grouchy Bear~Sunny Bunny Cracklen~Gabriella~Sammie~Bobby *********************************************************  
  
  
  
Chapter 1: I Wanna Be A Witch!  
  
YAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEE!!!"  
  
Cracklen shook his head, half in humor and half in pity for his ten-year- old niece as he watched her struggling to stay on her broomstick as it glided swiftly through the air from where he was standing down below on the ground, cheering her on. "You're doing splendid, Sammie. Just keep holding on tight!"  
  
"I am," Sammie called, her eyes shut firmly as she sat with her arms locked firmly around the broom. "Uncle Cracklen, can I please come down? I think I'm going to be sick!"  
  
"In a minute. And open your eyes! How do you expect to pass your flying exam if your eyes are always closed?"  
  
"That's easy. I'll just wear sunglasses. Then nobody will be able to tell."  
  
"Nice try. Now open your eyes, young lady!"  
  
"All-all right." Sammie opened one eye slowly, and then the other. She sat up carefully on the broom, and then focused sharply ahead of her. To her horror she realized that she was headed straight for a tree. Instead of panicking, which was what she usually did in these types of situations, she pushed upwards on the broom and disappeared into the leaves of the tree, avoiding the lumber. Cracklen watched as Sammie shot through the top, clutching her purple witch's hat as she rose even higher into the air. "How do I come down?" Sammie called.  
  
"Aim towards the ground!" Cracklen shouted up to her. "Okay, here it goes." With all of her strength, Sammie pushed down hard on the broom, and within seconds she felt both herself and the broom hurtling in the direction of the ground. She screamed. "Uncle Cracklen, I can't stop it! I'm going to crash! Do something!"  
  
Cracklen shook his head and then muttered a spell, waving his right hand. A thin bolt of electricity escaped from his finger and ascended through the air where it surrounded Sammie and her broom. It slowed down just seconds before it could crash, and she found herself floating only a few inches above the ground on her broomstick.  
  
"So," Sammie said, "how was I?"  
  
"Not bad," Cracklen replied as he approached her. "Except you need to concentrate more on handling your broom. You can't always count on my magic to save you when you find yourself in a tight spot, particularly on the day of your final exam."  
  
"I know that. I just want to be as good a wizard as you someday."  
  
"It will happen. All you need to do is practice."  
  
"But that's all I ever do, and it never gets me anywhere."  
  
"That's because you're impatient. Just don't think about what you want so much, and your wishes will come true in time."  
  
  
  
Sammie was awakened that night by a thunderous blast that she recognized at once as her uncle's sneezing. She sat up in bed and stared across the room at the closed door. "Oh no," she said. "Not again. I hate it when this happens to him." She slid out of bed and ran across the cold stone floor to the door. She pushed it open and stepped quietly out into the hallway.  
  
She padded silently down the hall of the humongous castle, following the violent sneezes that seemed to echo every five seconds and grow louder with each step she took. The sneezes led her straight to Cracklen's quarters, and Sammie could feel her heart just beginning to beat out of control. "This is so unfair," she said just before pushing the door open.  
  
As Sammie stood in the doorway, she immediately caught sight of Cracklen sitting on his bed blowing his long nose into his handkerchief. "Excuse me, Uncle Cracklen? I heard the noise from down the hall-is everything all right?"  
  
He smiled at her. "Yes," he replied, his voice nasal. "Just a reaction to something.probably a plant of some kind."  
  
"Do you want me to go outside and check it out? If I find anything I'll just move it far away from the castle."  
  
Cracklen looked surprised. "You would do that?"  
  
"Of course. I'll be right back." Sammie turned and scampered out of the room.  
  
As she walked rapidly down the hall, tears rushed into her usually happy blue eyes. Everyone knew Cracklen's weakness, including his own niece, and that was his allergies to just about every type of animal hair on the planet, especially that of a cat. Sammie had heard the nasty jokes around the village of how everyone was surprised at how her uncle wasn't allergic to himself. It infuriated her so much at times that she would often attempt a fight with whoever was making the joke, mostly the kids at school, which she supposed was why she didn't have any friends. In her opinion she told herself that she didn't need them, that the more friends you had would only cause more problems; but she knew deep down that all she wanted was a friend. Even one would be okay. Aside from being the oddball of the school, she struggled to prepare for her final exam in which she would have to demonstrate how to properly ride a broomstick and thus measure off to a junior witch. But even though she studied hard and did the very best she knew how, it never seemed to pay off. She had fallen off her broom more times than she liked to remember in front of her class, receiving not applause but cruel laughter from everyone; even her teacher. Trying to protect not only Cracklen's name but her own as well seemed to always end in the same way: people laughing and Sammie crying.  
  
A short time later, Sammie stopped at the front door and flung it open. As she marched out into the dark cold night, she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. It was so dark out that she needed to squint in order to see better. As she wandered through the night, she spotted a patch of goldenrod that was beginning to grow that had been only a few inches from the window of Cracklen's bedroom. "So that's it," Sammie said as she approached the goldenrod. "That must be what's making him sneeze. I wonder how it got here? Probably from all the rain we've been getting lately." Sammie used all of her strength to yank the plants out of the ground, which were rooted so deep into the earth that she found it impossible to snatch up more than a few of the upper stems, and to no avail did she succeed. "They won't even budge! Come on, you stupid things!"  
  
Sammie finally gave up. She collapsed on the ground and began to cry.  
  
"I can't do anything right," she sobbed miserably. "I can't fly a broomstick, do magic, or even do something as simple as pulling a bunch of weeds out of the ground! What good am I to anyone if all I do is make mistakes all the time? And the only reason Uncle Cracklen puts up with me is because Mom and Dad dumped me on him and he feels like he has to." Suddenly, another sneeze exploded from inside the castle, and Sammie was whisked out of her state of self-pity. "That's it! I'm going to do something about this right now!" She leaped to her feet and took up her wand.  
  
"There stands before me a great burden, But I will be the one who takes care of it, Now believe me when I say, If you don't disappear right now then you shall pay, |And with a wave of my wand, You shall be gone!"  
  
  
  
As Sammie completed the spell, she was frustrated but not surprised to see that the patch of goldenrod was still in its original place. "Darn it! Why the heck didn't it work? I said all the words right!" In a fit of annoyance, jumped on top of the weeds and began stomping as hard as she could on top of them.  
  
"Sammie?"  
  
She immediately stopped what she was doing, and stood perfectly still. She turned her head over her shoulder and saw Cracklen standing in the doorway of the castle. "I." Sammie started. "I.I found some goldenrod but I couldn't even budge it. I mean I tried, but it's buried too deep in the ground. And then I tried to use magic on it, only that didn't work either."  
  
"Stand aside," Cracklen said. "I'll show you how it's done." Sammie moved to one side, and listened to her uncle as he recited the same spell she had, only with one difference: Instead of using his wand, which he kept hidden in a chest in the castle dungeon, he shot a bolt of electricity from his hand. It encircled the goldenrod and in a single neon blue wink it disappeared. "You see? It's all in the wrist-" Cracklen bellowed another sneeze, and Sammie could almost feel her heart leap into her throat.  
  
She flung open her arms. "There, you see?" she practically shouted, and Cracklen looked at her in astonishment. "I can't even perform a simple spell. And what's worse, I'm making you suffer. What am I doing trying to become a witch anyway? All I do is screw up over and over again!" Sammie suddenly found herself unable to control the tears that she had known were coming ever since she had awakened to her uncle's sneezing. "Why in the world do you put up with me anyway?" As she said this, the tears were streaming down her cheeks in great drops.  
  
"Oh, Sammie dear," Cracklen replied, and held out his arms to her, "come here." He knelt down on one knee as his niece broke across the lawn and jumped into his arms. As she sobbed piteously into his chest, he held her close, running his long fingers through her soft brown hair. "Ssshhh, it's all right. Don't cry."  
  
"But I hate seeing you suffer like this. And when I try to help, I just mess up."  
  
"But don't you see, Sammie? You did help me-that's what you're always doing for me. Just because you make a mistake doesn't mean you didn't do everything in your power to make it right." "I know." Sammie sniffed back a sob and looked up at her uncle, her face cherry-red from crying.  
  
"Here." Cracklen reached into the pocket of his cloak and pulled out a handkerchief, which he handed to Sammie. "Now, how about you dry those crocodile tears?"  
  
She smiled as she accepted the handkerchief. She wiped her face and blew her nose, which made both her and Cracklen laugh.  
  
That night as Cracklen carried his niece into the castle and back down the hall to her bedroom he wasn't surprised to find that she had fallen fast asleep in his arms. "You did well today, little one," he said as he laid Sammie down in bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. "I am so very proud of you, and you should be too." Cracklen kissed Sammie's cheek, turned out the light, and tiptoed quietly out of the room.  
  
  
  
The following day at the Blue Mountain School for Wizards and Witches, Sammie found it nearly impossible to keep her eyes open. She was resting her chin between her palms, which was the only way she could prevent her head from slipping and hitting the desk. When her teacher, Mrs. Fuller, asked her how to turn a common frog into a handsome prince, Sammie, who had already fallen asleep at her desk, replied, "Mmmmmm.gloom brownies."  
  
The entire class erupted in laughter, and Sammie sat bolt upright in her seat. Mrs. Fuller had her arms crossed over her chest and was glaring at her. "As usual, Sammie, you are incorrect. My suggestion is that you get your sleep at night and not during my class. Maybe then you will be able to answer a simple question."  
  
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Fuller," Sammie replied, embarrassed. "I was up late last night. I promise, it won't happen again."  
  
  
  
At recess that afternoon, Bobby MacMagic, a boy from Sammie's class, cornered her. "Hey, Sammie," the he said. "How's your uncle these days?"  
  
"He's fine," she replied.  
  
"That's good. And his allergies?"  
  
"What about them?"  
  
"I hear these days it's cats that get him going." Bobby paused as Sammie's face twisted into a heated expression. "One more thing: You do know that's a wizard's outfit you've got on, don't you? Girls are supposed to dress in witch's attire, or are you so stupid you didn't know that?"  
  
"My uncle made this outfit for me, and I'm proud to wear it," Sammie replied indignantly.  
  
"Is that so?" Bobby said. "Here, I have something I want you to give him for me."  
  
"What?"  
  
"This." Bobby scooped up a rather large stone and pelted Sammie with it.  
  
"Ouch, that hurt!" Sammie said. "What did you do that for?"  
  
"Because I don't like little wanna-be magic users in my school," answered Bobby, and he hit her with another stone.  
  
Sammie fell to the ground, rubbing her forehead where the stone had struck. When she drew her hand away and looked at it she saw that it was smeared with blood. She glared up at Bobby and in seconds had leaped to her feet. "You creep!" she screamed, and rushed madly at him. Before he knew what was happening, Sammie had trampled him to the ground and was swinging punches at his face from every direction. Bobby managed to get in a few of his own, slamming his fist into Sammie's nose and lower lip, causing them both to bleed. He pulled hard at the sleeve of Sammie's cloak and tore it, which only made her angrier. She punched Bobby in the eye, leaving behind a black and blue mark. It was only when Mrs. Fuller came over a moment later and pulled them apart that both children were forced to discontinue their fighting.  
  
"What is going on here?" Mrs. Fuller demanded.  
  
"She started it, Mrs. Fuller," Bobby said. "Honest. All I did was say hello and she started punching me."  
  
"You're such a liar!" Sammie cried.  
  
"Hush!" Mrs. Fuller snapped.  
  
"But it's true," Sammie insisted. "He started throwing stones at me-"  
  
"Enough! I don't want to hear anymore. I want the both of you to stay for an hour after school and write me an essay on the consequences of fighting."  
  
  
  
That afternoon when the dismissal bell rang at 3:15, instead of lining up at the door of the classroom with the other students Sammie and Bobby remained in their seats. After everyone had left, Mrs. Fuller handed them each a piece of loose-leaf paper and instructed them on how to write a four- paragraph composition on the "consequences of fighting."  
  
"And neither of you are leaving until you've completed the assignment," Mrs. Fuller finished firmly.  
  
"I'll get you for this, Sammie," Bobby whispered to her from his desk across the room.  
  
"Whatever, Bobby," muttered Sammie, and began to write.  
  
  
  
The Consequences of Fighting By Sammie De Spell  
  
The desire to fight is a very bad quality to have. You can get into trouble or worse, get hurt. Even when people tease you or make jokes about one of your friends or somebody in your family, it still doesn't give you the right to get into a fight. Some people get into fights because they're board or just plain like to fight. But this still doesn't make it okay. People should be polite and friendly to each other, but when we do things like get into fights what kind of exa`ple are we setting for children? That's right, not a very good one. If they see older kids or grown-ups fighting, then they will think it is all right. We all need to be polite and nice to each other so that children will see us and act just like we do. Sometimes people will fight over silly things, like who will get the last free swing on the swing set or the last cookie in the cookie jar. Instead of fighting, we should be polite and offer the last of something to the other person. That way we can avoid a fight. Fighting doesn't get us anything except maybe a black eye or a detention. We should all try to be a little more polite to other people and that way we can avoid getting into a fight with them.  
  
Sammie was the first to complete her essay, and she raised her hand. "Mrs. Fuller, I'm finished."  
  
Mrs. Fuller looked up at Sammie from her desk at the head of the room. "All right, Sammie," Mrs. Fuller replied. "Bring it here and then you may go."  
  
Bobby glared at Sammie as she scooped up her satchel, which was propped up against the right leg of her desk. After she handed Mrs. Fuller her composition, Sammie was heading toward the door when Bobby stuck his tongue out at her. In return she stuck out hers before Mrs. Fuller could notice. Sammie then slipped through the door and headed down the path back to Cracklen's castle.  
  
  
  
On her way home from school, Sammie kept thinking about what her uncle was going to say when she showed up an hour late. He'll probably turn me into a toad, she thought, although she highly doubted it. Cracklen had always been very kind to her, and if she did something that he didn't approve of the worst he could do was send her to her room.  
  
When she arrived at the castle, Sammie hesitated about opening the door. However, she figured that the longer she waited, the angrier Cracklen would be. So Sammie pushed open the door as quietly as she could and stepped into the hallway, being careful not to make a sound. As she sauntered down the hallway in the direction of the library where her uncle usually spent his afternoons, a voice stopped her in her tracks. "So there you are."  
  
"Eeep," Sammie squeaked, and peered into the dungeon to see Cracklen standing over a bubbling cauldron.  
  
"Where have you been for the passed hour?" he demanded. "And what happened to your face? That's quite a nasty-looking cuts you've got there. And your cloak is torn."  
  
Sammie sighed. "I was in detention."  
  
"Detention?" Cracklen's face looked as shocked as his voice sounded. "For what?"  
  
"Fighting."  
  
"You? Fighting? Sammie, I'm surprised at you. You aren't one to-"  
  
"But it wasn't my fault. It was Bobby MacMagic. He started throwing stones at me." Sammie didn't mention the part about Bobby mocking Cracklen, since she knew it would only infuriate her uncle. Like Sammie, he too didn't appreciate the jokes others made concerning his allergies.  
  
"Well," Cracklen said, "I suppose you're not completely to blame. But the next time something like this happens I don't want you to resort to violence. Instead you are to come to me or another adult. Now come in and let me wash that cut. Afterward we'll go into the library and I will mend your robe."  
  
Sammie sat down on a stool while Cracklen gently disinfected her forehead and dabbed a wet washcloth on her bottom lip. "Ouch," Sammie cried, and drew back, "that stings!"  
  
"Stop flinching," Cracklen said. "I'm almost finished."  
  
After Cracklen had tended to Sammie's injuries, they exited the dungeon and went into the library. While Cracklen sat in the big armchair with the robe thrown over his lap stitching the torn sleeve, Sammie sat at his feet staring up at him in complete awe. "So, tell me about this bully of yours," Cracklen said after a moment.  
  
"There's nothing much to say about Bobby," Sammie replied. "Except that he's a big jerk!"  
  
"People who do things such as throw stones at others are usually jerks."  
  
"No kidding. Uncle Cracklen, are there any spells you can cast on Bobby so he'll stop bothering me?"  
  
"Unfortunately that's not something I can do. You must learn to handle things on your own, Sammie. Remember I won't always be there to help you out of every unfortunate situation you come across. What are you going to do when you grow up?"  
  
"Oh, by then I'll know plenty of magic."  
  
"Magic shouldn't be used to solve every one of your problems. Some, but not all the time."  
  
"Why not? What's wrong with using magic all the time?"  
  
"Because if you use it too often, then you won't learn to do things for yourself."  
  
"Kind of like when Mom and Dad tell me to clean my room and I cast a spell that puts all my toys and books back on the shelf-well, if I knew the first thing about casting a spell then I could do it."  
  
Cracklen smiled. "That's right."  
  
"Do you know the first thing I'm going to do once I learn to use magic right?"  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"I'm going to create a special potion that will rid you of your allergies. Then it won't matter how many flowers bloom in the springtime and we won't have to worry about animal hair either."  
  
"That's sweet, Sammie," Cracklen replied. "Thank you. And look." He held up her cloak, the tear in the sleeve now patched together. "I've mended your cloak."  
  
A wide grin spread across Sammie's face, and she got quickly to her feet. "Oh, thank you, Uncle Cracklen!" she exclaimed. "It's perfect!" She bounced onto his lap and gave him a tight hug. "You're the greatest uncle in the world!" 


	2. Chapter 2: A Curious Encounter

Chapter 2: A Curious Encounter  
  
Marcella, it's time to leave! We've got to get to the beach before a big crowd forms!"  
  
"Coming, Mom!" Marcella scrambled to her feet from where she was sitting on the floor having a private conversation with her two favorite dolls, Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy, and one of her favorite stuffed animals, Sunny Bunny. "I'll see you all next week when we get back from the beach," Marcella said to them, and then disappeared through the door with her suitcase, which was banging noisily against the wall as she headed down the hallway.  
  
Raggedy Ann was the first to speak. "All right, everyone," she whispered. "Marcella's gone."  
  
"It's about time," muttered Grouchy Bear from his position from underneath a mess of blankets in Marcella's unmade bed. "Do you know how long I've been here? My limbs are so stiff I can barely-"  
  
Andy cut him off. "Barely," he giggled. "That's a good one!"  
  
"Oh, shut up and help me out of this abomination!"  
  
"Why are you always in such a bad mood?" Sunny leg all night long I don't normally feel very cheery the next day. Unlike you, Sunny Bunny, who is always much too happy it's sickening-"  
  
"All right," Andy interrupted. "Stand aside! Maybe after I get Grouchy Bear out it will put him in a better frame of mind."  
  
Andy approached the bed and took hold of Grouchy Bear's arms and had hardly started to pull him down when he hollered, "Ouch! What are you trying to do? Rip my arms off?"  
  
Andy immediately let go and placed his hands on his hips. "For your information I was trying to get you down. But if you don't want my help it's just fine with me." Andy started to walk away when Grouchy Bear reached out one paw and called to Andy.  
  
"Wait," Grouchy Bear said. "I.I didn't mean it, honest. I'm sorry I got mad."  
  
Andy turned around. "All right, then. Ask me nicely and then maybe I'll consider."  
  
"Will you please help me out from here, Andy?" Grouchy Bear said in his most surgery-sweet voice.  
  
"Say I'm the best, most fun toy in the world," Andy said. Raggedy Ann rolled her eyes. "Oh, Andrew," she sighed.  
  
"You are the best, most fun toy in the world," Grouchy Bear said.  
  
"Say it like you mean it," Andy insisted.  
  
"Raggedy Andy, you are the best, most fun toy in the world!"  
  
"Okay, I guess I can settle for that." Once again, Andy went up to Grouchy Bear and, being careful not to pull his arms too hard, helped him down from the bed where he and Andy landed together in a heap on the floor.  
  
Meanwhile, Sunny Bunny had begun to feel a strange warmth coming from within the pocket of his trousers. He reached inside and pulled out his magic pen, which was giving off a bright blue light. "Uh-oh," he said.  
  
"What is it?" Ann asked, and then she too noticed the glowing of the pen. "Oh, my gosh!"  
  
"It's never done this before. It could mean there's trouble."  
  
Hearing this, Andy and Grouchy Bear collected themselves from the floor and came over to stand with Raggedy Ann and the others. "It could be Cracklen," Andy said.  
  
Directly after Andy had suggested this, the pen leaped out of Sunny Bunny's paw and wrote in black ink on the wall, yes, go to his castle! There you will find the one who is in need of help!  
  
"What do you think it means?" Sunny Bunny asked.  
  
"I know what it means," Grouchy Bear said in a disgruntled voice. "As usual we'll go trekking around an unfamiliar place where who-knows-what could be lurking around a corner waiting to get us, probably get kidnapped by Cracklen, and who knows what else. Well, this time I'm putting my foot down. I absolutely refuse to take part in any more of your little misadventures."  
  
"Don't listen to him, Sunny Bunny," Ann said. "What it means is that someone needs our help and our job is to make sure that we give it to them. Come on, you guys!" Ann climbed up to the windowsill, where Andy and Sunny Bunny then followed.  
  
"Oh, do wait for me," Grouchy Bear called after them. Not wanting to be left alone, he was up and out the window in seconds and was racing down the path to catch up with the others.  
  
"Uncle Cracklen will be so surprised when I show him these gloom brownies I bake," Sammie said as she poured three measures of milk into a small metal baking pan filled with chocolate powder. "Even though they're actually just regular brownies since the recipe calls for a clump of hair from a dog and there aren't any around here." As Sammie added three teaspoons of flour, she sang cheerfully to herself.  
  
  
  
"The sun shines high in the sky, And the little cat purrs, As the light from the sun shines down on her, The little dog barks and says, 'Oh, isn't it a lark To have such a fine spring day!"  
  
  
  
"At least singing is one thing I don't have to worry about making mistakes in," Sammie said with a sigh as she scooped up the pan and carried it over to the stove where she set it carefully down. "It's the only talent I have it seems." She switched on the stove and then took a seat at the kitchen table to wait for the alarm to sound, which would indicate that the brownies were finished baking.  
  
While she waited, she laid her head in her arms that were crossed together along the table. Before she knew it, the sleep she had lost the night before caught up with her and she closed her eyes.  
  
A loud, earsplitting buzzing dragged Sammie out of slumber some twenty minutes later, and she sat up in alarm to see thick smoke discharging from the oven. In a panic she was up and running toward the stove; she flung open the door and received a face full of smoke, causing her to cough and sputter. She reached in and pulled out the pan of brownies, which were burned to a thick crisp, and threw them into the sink. She turned on the tap and flooded the pan with just enough water to put out the smoke. After that, she ran around the castle opening all of the windows that weren't too high for her to reach in order to rid the premises of as much smoke as possible.  
  
Meanwhile, Cracklen was less than half a mile from the castle on his way back from town after purchasing some items to use for his potions when he noticed the smoke rising from behind the trees. "That looks like smoke," he said. "And it appears as though it's coming not too far from my castle.oh my gosh! Sammie!" He dropped the bags he had been carrying and tore madly down the path to the castle.  
  
Sammie was standing on a stool over the sink washing the soot from her face when she heard the front door fling open and turned to see Cracklen as appeared in the entranceway.  
  
"Sammie," he gasped, "are you all right?"  
  
She nodded. "Uh.uh-huh."  
  
"What happened? Why is there smoke coming out of every window? And what happened to your face?"  
  
"It's kind of a long story." Sammie's voice was hesitant.  
  
"Out with it. I want to know everything that went on here while I was gone."  
  
"Okay." Sammie sat down on the stool on which she had been standing and looked up at her uncle. "It's like this: I was trying to make gloom brownies-not real ones, since I couldn't find any dog hair-and I guess I sort of fell asleep. Then the stove started buzzing and I woke up to find all this smoke coming out of the oven. It was an accident. I wanted to surprise you and I guess it sort of.well.backfired."  
  
"I'll ignore that last pun," Cracklen replied, a hint of aggravation lurking throughout his voice. "You know I don't want you using any electronic devices when I'm not home. What if you had gotten hurt? I wouldn't have been here. Unless I'm around I don't want you anywhere near the stove. Is that clear?"  
  
"What about Tic and Tac? They're grown-ups."  
  
Cracklen rubbed his temples. "Please, dear. Let's not even go there."  
  
"Yes, Uncle Cracklen." Sammie hung her head in shame. "Are.are you mad at me?"  
  
"No. I'm just glad you're safe." Cracklen advanced through the kitchen entrance and over to where Sammie was sitting on the stool staring down at the floor.  
  
"I feel like such an idiot," she said. "I can't do anything right. I can't even make a simple batch of brownies without nearly burning down the castle." Then, lifting her head brusquely, she shouted, "What's wrong with me?"  
  
Cracklen stared at his niece, the expression on his face one of such bewilderment that Sammie's voice actually carried such a brutal tone. "Listen, Sammie," Cracklen said as he knelt down before her, "believe me when I say that there's absolutely nothing wrong with you. Sure you make a mistake or two once in a while, but doesn't everyone? That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you."  
  
"Then what does it mean?"  
  
"It means that you're human. If we all went around being perfect, then the world would be a pretty boring place wouldn't it?" "I guess so. But all I want is to be a great wizard one day, like you, and show everyone that I can cast magnificent spells. Maybe even put curses on those stupid villagers who talk bad about you and the kids at school who are always laughing at me."  
  
Cracklen beamed brightly. "Those are all wonderful expectations, and I have great faith in you, but you shouldn't feel like you have to be exactly like me. Just be yourself."  
  
"Myself? I've been myself for ten years and I've never gained anything from it-all I've gotten in return are people making fun of me and blowing stuff up in class because I can't even make a simple potion work. Face it, Uncle Cracklen: I'm pathetic."  
  
"Oh, Sammie. You're much too hard on yourself. Do your parents ever tell you that?"  
  
She shook her head. "No. They just tell me to study harder and not to concentrate so much on what people think of me. But it's so hard because when you hear somebody say your name in school you know they're making fun of you." She sighed heavily. "I thought if I could concentrate on being exactly like you then I wouldn't have to worry about what people think of me so much. Sometimes I.I just hate the way I am. I wish I could be anyone else in the whole world instead of myself." She let out a small whimper, and once more focused her eyes on the floor. A single tear trickled down her right cheek and Cracklen reached out his thumb, gently wiping the tear away.  
  
"Well, I don't," he said gently. "Who would you be if you weren't Sammie De Spell? I would have no niece to call my favorite."  
  
"I'm your favorite?" A smile spread across Sammim's face as she looked up at her uncle. "For real?"  
  
Cracklen nodded. "For real."  
  
"Uncle Cracklen?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Will you teach me to make gloom brownies one day? Real ones?"  
  
"Of course I will. Nothing in this world would make me more happy than to share my secret recipe with my favorite little witch."  
  
  
  
"Are we there yet? How much further?"  
  
"Oh, Grouchy Bear," Andy said in irritation, "stop complaining. You're giving me a headache." "Don't worry," Sunny Bunny said patiently. "We'll know we've reached our destination the moment my magic pen begins to glow its brightest."  
  
"But when will that be?" Grouchy Bear moaned.  
  
Raggedy Ann and the others, all except Grouchy Bear, came to a sudden halt where they had been trekking through the dark woods and shouted at him, "Grouchy Bear! Hush!"  
  
An immediate silence fell over them all; from his place at the head of the row, Sunny Bunny gasped. "Everyone," he said. "Come, and look at this."  
  
They all crowded around him, and their eyes widened at the sight of the magic pen that he clutched tightly in his paws. The pen had written another message on the ground, which read: You're close. Keep going!  
  
"It says we're close," Sunny Bunny concluded. "Come on. We've got to keep going." With intense determination, he led the others deeper into the forest.  
  
Unexpectedly, a shrill cry of a crow echoed from somewhere up above, and before the four friends knew what they were doing, they went tearing through the woods in absolute terror.  
  
In the meantime, someone else was heading down in the same direction that they were racing toward, except at a much slower pace.  
  
Sunny Bunny, still in the lead, suddenly felt himself crash painfully into an unknown form, which caused him to be thrown back several feet. As for whatever he had met with, it too was flung into the rear of the forest.  
  
"Ouch," Sunny Bunny said, rubbing his head.  
  
"Ouch is right," answered an unfamiliar voice. "You almost trampled me!"  
  
"Who.who's there?" Sunny Bunny's own voice was filled with fear.  
  
"I am," the voice replied. "Me."  
  
"But who are you?" "Who am I? Why-" There was a crackling of leaves as the form rose up and revealed itself to Sunny Bunny, who leaped up and ran to hide behind Raggedy Ann. The form was a skinny little girl with brown hair and enormous hazel eyes, dressed in a long blue cloak and matching wizard's hat. "-I'm Sammie De Spell, ten years old, witch in training, and student at the Blue Mountain School for Wizards and Witches. Now that I've introduced myself, who might you all be?"  
  
"My name is Raggedy Ann," she said, then, holding up one hand to Andy, "And this is my brother Andy. And these are our friends Groucy Bear and- "  
  
"I'm Sunny Bunny," he answered shyly from where he was hiding his face in Ann's dress.  
  
"Don't mind him," Grouchy Bear put in, "he's genuinely rude."  
  
"I am not!" Sunny Bunny said.  
  
"He's just a little shy," explained Raggedy Ann. "Don't worry, give him a few minutes and he'll come around."  
  
Sammie smiled and proceeded to Sunny Bunny's side and knelt down before him where he still shielded his face within the soft cloth of Raggedy Ann's dress. "Hi there, Sunny Bunny," Sammie said. "I'm uh.I'm really sorry about running into you like that. It was dark and I couldn't see where I was going."  
  
"Say," Andy spoke up, and everyone looked at him, "what's a little girl like you doing out in these parts so late at night?"  
  
"My uncle's allergies are especially bad tonight, with spring coming and all, and I was on my way into town to pick up some medicine for him." Sammie's smile quickly faded, and she looked at Andy and the others sadly. "My uncle means a lot to me, and every year when the plants and pollen from the trees begin to bloom, it gives him a very difficult time. I just wish I could do more for him, but with going to school and studying for my exams I don't actually have all the time in the world. It isn't so much those things that are preventing me from doing less for him than I should be able to. It's that I just don't seem to be on the same level of learning as everyone else in my class. I can't even do the simplest spells or even fly a broomstick properly. One of the reasons I want to learn to use magic so desperately is so I can concoct a potion that will rid my uncle of his allergies. I'm not training to become a real witch for my parents or even myself-I'm doing it for my uncle."  
  
"You must be an awfully autonomous person to take such a big step to help him," Grouchy Bear commented.  
  
Sammie, along with the others, looked at him in confusion. "Yeah," she replied. "That and I've learned to be very independent."  
  
Grouchy Bear smiled slightly. "That's what I mean."  
  
"Listen," Sammie said. "It was very nice meeting all of you, but I really have to get going. I'm sure we'll meet again though. Good-bye." Sammie granted them one last smile before continuing on her way in the direction that they had come from.  
  
"What an.unusual girl," Ann said after Sammie had gone.  
  
"Everyone," Sunny Bunny said. "Look at this."  
  
Ann, Andy and Grouchy Bear came over to Sunny Bunny's side and stared at another of the pen's messages that had been written on a rock: Follow the little girl.  
  
  
  
"Aaaahhh-chooo!" Cracklen sneezed violently as he stood in front of the open window of his bedroom, his eyes red and watery while his nose remained congested. "Darn it!" He banged a fist down on the sill. "She's been gone for nearly two hours. Where on earth can she be?" He hollered for his henchmen, Tic and Tac, and at once two short men appeared in the doorway.  
  
"Yes, sir?" they said in unison.  
  
Cracklen blew his nose into his handkerchief, and then spoke to them: "This is very important, so you two bumbling fools had better listen good. My niece is missing. She is only a child so I'm appointing you to find her, and if you dare return without her I guarantee that you'll be sorry. I'd do it myself, except my allergies are.are-" Cracklen sneezed loudly into his handkerchief. When he lifted his head and saw that Tic and Tac were still standing in the doorway and staring at him he screamed, "What are you idiots looking at? Go and find Sammie, now!"  
  
"Yes, sir!" Without another word, Tic and Tac turned, bumped into each other and fell clumsily to the floor, and then raced down the hallway before Cracklen could find another reason to yell at them.  
  
"Oh, Sammie," Cracklen whispered after they had gone. "Wherever you are, please. Be safe."  
  
  
  
"What do you mean you're all out of eye root and nasal irrigate?" Sammie practically screamed at the manager where he stood behind the counter staring at her in shock, stunned that such an innocent-looking girl could be so obstinate. "My uncle needs them to control his allergies."  
  
"I'm sorry," the manager replied calmly as he leaned across the counter, "but I sold the last two bottles this morning. But if you want we're getting a new shipment of eye root and nasal irrigate tomorrow. If you could come in before ten a.m.-"  
  
"But his allergies are really bad! I have to get him his medicine tonight!"  
  
The manager sighed impatiently. "Listen, sweetheart. Since the warm weather has been rolling in a lot of people have been suffering, and I'm sure some of them are a lot worse off than your uncle."  
  
"Oh yeah? Do you even know who my uncle is?"  
  
The manager simply looked at her inanely.  
  
"He's the wizard known as Cracklen!"  
  
The manager's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Him? He's your uncle? Wow, kid, I pity you."  
  
Sammie glared angrily at the manager. "For your information, I'm more than proud to be his niece. And if you have a problem understanding that then I guess your just too dense." She flung around in a huff, and marched furiously out the door.  
  
"Come back tomorrow," the manager called after her, but Sammie didn't turn around. "By then we should have the shelves stocked full of eye root and nasal irrigate!"  
  
"I wouldn't bet on it," she mumbled underneath her breath as she headed down the path leading back to Cracklen's castle.  
  
When Sammie returned an hour later, she was greeted by the same fierce sneezing that had driven her out of the castle right before she had met up with Raggedy Ann and her friends. Sammie stood frozen in the hallway, shaking and at the same time trying desperately to drive away the tears that were rolling fast into her eyes. "Uncle Cracklen?" she said at last, and raced down the hall to his chambers where she flung open the door.  
  
He was lying face-up in bed, the covers pulled up to his chin. When he saw Sammie, he sat up instantly and wiped his eyes and nose with his handkerchief. "Sammie, you're back. I was worried sick. Where have you been for the past several hours?"  
  
"I went to the pharmacy to try and get you some medicine," she explained as she entered the room, "but the manager said they were all out of eye root and nasal irrigate, and I guess I didn't want to believe it. I stood in line for an hour and then argued with him for half an hour. Then when I told him who you were he said that he pitied me for some reason. Can you believe that? Isn't that the biggest bunch of hooey you've ever heard?"  
  
For a moment, Cracklen stared at his niece blankly. Then he replied in a dismal voice, "You know, Sammie, in a way he's right."  
  
"What?" Her response was filled with astonishment. "Says who? I'll have you know that this guy is a complete and total fool! He had no right to talk about you like he did. If anyone ever says something as horrible as what he did regarding you then I swear I'll break both their arms off and beat the them with them-"  
  
"Sammie!" Cracklen held up one hand, and at once Sammie was quiet. "Stop shouting for two minutes and listen to what I have to say. Because of my allergies I am not always able to do the things that parents do with and for their children-such as taking you on walks and all those other outdoor activities. As soon as you've finished up your semester I think it would be better if you returned home to your parents."  
  
"What?" Sammie stared at her uncle in shock. "No! I won't go! I don't want to! I only want to stay here with you!" She bounded across the room and in one quick leap she landed on top of Cracklen and was clinging tightly to him as she buried her face in his chest. "I don't mind one bit if your allergies keep you from doing certain things. Besides, you make the best gloom brownies there ever were! You're the best uncle in the whole wide world! You can't make me go back home, and if you do I'll run away!"  
  
At that moment, Cracklen gently slid his hand underneath Sammie's small pointed chin and lifted her head so that their eyes met. "You remind me so much of myself when I was your age," he said with a smile. "I was always so determined to set things right, I refused to give up. I was so stubborn, but sometimes a little stubbornness is a good thing."  
  
Sammie sniffled. "Do I really have to go back home? Please don't make me, Uncle Cracklen. I'll study really really hard for my final exam and I promise that I'll pass it. Just let me stay."  
  
"How can I resist that expression of yours?" Cracklen pulled the little girl close to him. "Sammie, you're all I've got in this world."  
  
"I love you, Uncle Cracklen," Sammie said, her face buried in his chest.  
  
"I love you, too," he replied. "Don't ever forget that." 


	3. Chapter 3: Misunderstandings

Chapter 3: Misunderstandings  
  
The next day, Sammie returned to school more tired than ever. As soon as she walked into class, she slumped into her seat and lay her head down on the desk. The night before, she had been plagued by nightmares about giant wildflowers chasing Cracklen all over the castle and causing him to sneeze. Sammie had woken up somewhere between five and seven times, and each time she had tiptoed down the hall and peeped into Cracklen's room, feeling greatly relieved that aside from his usual snoring he appeared to be fine.  
  
Sammie was just beginning to nod off when the bell for the start of school rang, and she screamed, sitting up with a start in her seat.  
  
"Honestly, Sammie," Mrs. Fuller said irritably as she stood at the blackboard jotting down names of potions for the week's vocabulary words. "Is it so wrong for someone to change the color of their hair if they want to?"  
  
"Huh?" Sammie then noticed that her teacher's jet-black hair had been dyed blond, which looked absolutely ridiculous, Sammie thought. "Oh, uh, no; of course not. It.it looks nice."  
  
"Liar," Bobby MacMagic whispered from his desk a few rows down from hers, a cruel glare present on his face.  
  
Sammie turned away and stared in despair down at her desk. If she wasn't so tired and didn't have so much on her mind, then she might have responded with an insult of her own; but she decided that she just couldn't handle any more plights.  
  
That day as Sammie and her classmates wrote their vocabulary words in their notebooks and copied down the descriptions out of their 1,001 Terms and Definitions of the Magical World dictionaries, all she could think about was how helpless she felt for not being able to help Cracklen; not to mention the inquisitive encounter of the night before with Sunny Bunny and his companions. Where were they from and what were they doing here?  
  
"That's something I've got to find out," Sammie whispered to herself as she wrote down the tenth and last of her vocabulary words and opened the dictionary to copy its definition.  
  
"Sammie De Spell," Mrs. Fuller said firmly, and Sammie looked up at her. "Must I ask you every day not to talk so that the rest of your classmates who actually want to go on to the fifth grade may concentrate on their work?" Mrs. Fuller shook her head. "Honestly. You are one of the most disruptive students I've ever had the inconvenience of teaching."  
  
"S.sorry, Mrs. Fuller." Sammie lowered her head to her paper and pretended to look busy. But inside all she could think about was how much she wanted to disappear and never be seen by anyone again. That afternoon at the end of school, Sammie was heading down the steps outside the building when Bobby and several of his friends who were just as nasty as he was assembled around her.  
  
"Where do you think you're going, De Spell?" Bobby said wickedly.  
  
"Get out of my way, Bobby. I have to go home." Sammie did not in the least feel in the mood to put up with someone who was famous for making her especially angry, and so she attempted to make her way passed him. Unfortunately, Bobby yanked her forward by the collar of her cloak and flung her to the ground. She landed on her back, hitting her head painfully on the hard ground. "What the heck is your problem?" she said, sitting up.  
  
"My problem?" As Bobby said this, his friends giggled. "It's you who has the problem. If you weren't such a baby and understood why no one in this school likes you, then we wouldn't be in this predicament now, would we?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Sammie got to her feet and stood before Bobby, staring him straight in the eyes.  
  
"Boy, you really are stupid. I told you that I'd get you back for that day on the playground, or are you so slow in the head that you forgot?"  
  
"Never underestimate him," one of Bobby's friends said to Sa`mie. "He always keeps his promises."  
  
Sammie glared at Bobby. "If you dare do anything to me, then my uncle will- "  
  
"Do what?" Bobby interrupted. "Sneeze at me? Oh, we'd better not let that happen huh, you guys?"  
  
"That's it!" Sammie shouted, now unable to control her anger. "I've had it with you, you big jerk!" Just as she had the day before, she lunged forward at Bobby; but before she could tackle him to the ground, she felt several hands grab her from behind. She was tossed to one side and again landed on the hard ground. This time, though, it was not her head that was struck with pain, but her right wrist as it jerked in the opposite direction the second her chest descended on top of it. She let out a laborious yowl, which immediately caught the attention of Bobby and his friends.  
  
"Oh, no," one of them said.  
  
"Do you think she's badly hurt?" another asked.  
  
"I.I don't know," Bobby said; his voice streaked with fear. "Come on, let's get out of here." He and the others turned and hurried off the school grounds.  
  
Sammie lay on the ground, bawling heavily and clutching her wrist, which was throbbing in unbelievable pain.  
  
It wasn't long before a teacher who had just stepped out of the building perceived her sobs. The woman rushed over to Sammie and knelt down beside her. "Oh dear," the woman said, "what's happened?"  
  
"My wrist," Sammie managed to reply through sobs. "I think it's broken."  
  
"Lie still. I'll be back in a moment with help." The woman hurried back into the school and returned a short time later with the school nurse.  
  
After examining Sammie's wrist, the nurse said to her, "Your wrist indeed appears to be broken. How did this happen?"  
  
"I.I got into a fight with this kid who's always bothering me. He and his friends cornered me and threw me down on the ground." Sammie let out a shaky sob as the pain in her wrist subsided to a more intense sensation. "Ouch, oh gosh it hurts!"  
  
"What's your name?" the nurse asked.  
  
"Sammie De Spell."  
  
"De Spell?" the woman said. "Then you must be-"  
  
"Sammie! My gosh, what's happened to you?" Sammie and the two women turned their heads to see Cracklen standing before them. In a flash he had sprinted over to them and was kneeling beside Sammie. He took her left hand into his and said softly, "Why are you lying here like this?"  
  
"Sir," the woman said, and Cracklen looked at her. "Your niece here told us that some other children cornered her. They threw her down on the ground, causing her to break her wrist."  
  
"I see." Sammie could easily tell that her uncle was trying hard to control his anger.  
  
"Does it hurt very much, Sammie?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"We'll take care of that as soon as we're home," Cracklen replied. Carefully he scooped her up into his arms and rose from the ground. "Excuse me, ladies, but my niece and I must depart. Good day to you." He then turned and headed down the path toward his castle.  
  
"Just hold still," Cracklen said. "This will take less than a minute." Holding his wand over Sammie's injured wrist where she sat in the big armchair in the library, he recited the following spell:  
  
"Although you are induced with great pain, You can put your trust in me To take it all away, No injury, Illness, Nor sorrow of mind, Has the power to stand up To the power that my wand shall wind. Now rest assured, As I cast this spell And make all of your pain Become well."  
  
Cracklen waved his wand, sending a pale, almost invisible yellow light around Sammie's wrist. The light engulfed it, and at once she could feel the almost unbearable pain in her wrist become smaller and smaller until finally it disappeared.  
  
Sammie lifted her right arm and turned her wrist back and forth, amazed that a magic spell actually had the power to heal such a painful injury. "You did it," she said, and looked at Cracklen in utter wonderment. "My wrist doesn't hurt at all." She paused. "But I thought you said that magic shouldn't be used to fix things."  
  
"In this case," Cracklen replied, "I decided to make an exception. I couldn't stand by and watch you suffer through such pain, especially when it was someone else's actions who caused it."  
  
"I'm not ever going back to that school. What's the point anyway? It's impossible for me to remember everything I'm told. Not only that, but all the kids make fun of me and even Mrs. Fuller thinks I'm incapable of doing anything."  
  
Cracklen gawped at Sammie for a long time before speaking. Finally he said, "Sammie, my dear, I know it hasn't exactly been an easy year for you, what with your parents sending you away from home and to a new school, but it's important for you to know that you can't let what people say or do get you down. As long as you have faith in yourself, you will remain strong and make it through."  
  
"How can I? Face it, Uncle Cracklen, when it comes to the world of wizards and witches, I'm a lost cause. Besides, no one even believes that I can do anything except make mistakes." "That's where you're wrong. I have faith in you. I always have. And there's no reason why you shouldn't have faith in yourself as well." He paused. "Sammie, I will tell you this right now: I believe in you and I always will."  
  
Cracklen's words had left Sammie with a strength that she couldn't recall ever having at any other time in her life. Her parents had never nurtured their daughter's desire to become a witch; only told her how, if she didn't apply herself to her studies, that she would only fail in life. Sammie's mother and father had sent her off to Cracklen, thinking that he would be able to snap some sense into her with unyielding discipline. However, this wasn't the case at all. Instead, he had managed to provide his niece with something that her parents never did: He showed her exactly how much he believed in her by explaining, over and over, that she must never give into the nasty things that people did and said to her. Although Cracklen understood how hard his words were for Sammie to interpret because of how badly the kids treated her and because she found it difficult to retain information taught to her in school, he figured that if he kept showing her how much confidence he had in her, then she would, at her own pace, succeed at her dream of one day following in his footsteps.  
  
As Sammie practiced flying her broom outside, something she hadn't done in nearly a week due to all of the problems she was experiencing at school and at home, she felt more sure of herself all because of her uncle's confidence in her. She no longer felt as afraid of soaring high through the air as she used to, knowing that if she kept practicing then there was a good chance she would pass her final exam in broomstick flying. After she had been in the air for a while, she spotted Sunny Bunny and the people he had been with the night they had met. Sammie grinned and prepared for a smooth landing, but instead zoomed just inches above the ground where she crashed into a bush.  
  
Raggedy Ann's mouth dropped open as her hands met the sides of her face. "Let's hurry," she exclaimed, and raced toward the bush with the others following. "She might be hurt!"  
  
When they arrived at the bush where Sammie had landed, they were relieved to find that she was unharmed. A few leaves stuck out of her hat and cloak, but the smile that she had attained at the sight of Raggedy Ann and the others had never left her face. "There you are," Sammie said, and got to her feet. "I was wondering when I'd see you all again." She papsed. "So, what brings you here?"  
  
"Never mind that now," Ann said. "The question is what are you doing here? Do you know how much trouble you'll be in if that evil wizard finds you?"  
  
Sammie stared at her in half confusion and half exasperation. "What are you talking about? There's no evil wizard living here-well, he's a wizard, but you're mistaken on the evil part. He's my uncle and I live here with him. And he is, mind you, the nicest man in all the world." Now Ann was just confused, as well as the others. "What's his name?"  
  
"Cracklen," replied Sammie. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Cracklen?" Ann and the others all exclaimed in shock.  
  
"There's no way you're related to him," Sunny Bunny said as he came forward.  
  
"You're.well.you're.so nice."  
  
"Of course I'm nice." Sammie crossed her arms over her chest and stared at them all.  
  
"And so is my uncle. Why is that so hard for you guys to understand?"  
  
"You mean you don't know?" Andy said.  
  
"Know? Know what?"  
  
"About all of his evil antics," Ann explained.  
  
"I still have no idea what any of you are trying to say."  
  
"He's always trying to kidnap one of us," Grouchy Bear said. "Sometimes two of us at a time."  
  
"Once he sent Tic and Tac to kidnap our friend, Raggedy Dog," Sunny Bunny put in. "He needed a piece of his hair for an evil recipe of gloom brownies. But they grabbed me instead."  
  
"You can't be serious," Sammie said. "My uncle loves me and I love him. He's never been mean to me or mistreated me. He's the only person who believes in me when no one else does. If it weren't for him then I don't think I would want to become a witch so badly."  
  
"It's all true," Andy insisted. "You've got to believe us."  
  
"Give me one good reason why I should." Sammie's voice was filled with anger. "All day at school I have to listen to people like stupid Bobby MacMagic taunt me. Then when I come home my uncle's there to greet me with a smile and comforts me when I tell him how rotten everyone is to me. You can go on believing whatever you want about him, I don't care. Just keep in mind that you guys aren't the ones trying your best to be happy when almost everything around you seems miserable."  
  
Sammie was about to turn and start heading back in the direction of the castle when Ann reached out to her. "Sammie," she said. "Please. Don't be angry. We're only telling you what we know." Sammie looked over her shoulder at Ann and the others, and they were shocked and rather ashamed of themselves to see that tears were already beginning to weld up in the little girl's eyes. "Well, keep it to yourselves," Sammie managed to say between deep sobs. "I don't need to hear you make judgments about somebody who I care about. I used to think that the only things people did were make fun of his allergies.but now I hear these ugly rumors about him being evil. Well, guess what? Even if he were, I'd love him anyway. So there!" Sammie spun around and rushed quickly back to the castle, leaving Raggedy Ann and her friends with an unintentional feeling of guilt.  
  
"Gosh," Andy said. "I didn't think she'd take it so hard. I.I feel sort of bad now."  
  
"Oh, Andy," Ann said gently and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself. We were all involved and said some things. But you should consider that we did it out of nothing less than concern."  
  
"Sammie needs to know who her uncle really is," Sunny Bunny added.  
  
However, these thoughts of theirs were quickly interrupted when Sunny Bunny said, his voice filled with excitement, "Look at this!"  
  
They all turned and stared at another message that had been written by the pen in the dirt: It's her! The little girl! She's the one!  
  
"Do you have any idea what this means?" Ann said.  
  
"That Sunny Bunny's magic pen will sure come in useful when it comes to taking really hard tests?" Andy suggested jokingly.  
  
"No," said Sunny Bunny. "It means that Sammie's the one we've come to help."  
  
"Yes," Ann replied. "And we've got to find out what the problem is so we can help her."  
  
"Hold on," Andy said, and everyone looked at him. "When Sammie ran off before, she didn't exactly seem like someone who would be willing to talk to us again anytime soon. What do you think we should do? We certainly can't walk up to Cracklen's front door and say to him, 'Excuse us, but is your niece at home?'"  
  
"Of course I don't expect you to do that. But I do have an idea."  
  
"And just what might that be?"  
  
"Well," explained Ann, "Sammie and Sunny Bunny seemed to get along pretty well. I was thinking maybe we could dress him up as a wizard. That way he could get passed Cracklen and be able to talk to Sammie with no problem at all." "Wait a minute," Sunny Bunny said. "I don't think I'm completely comfortable with this whole plan. I mean, what if something happens? Cracklen could easily find out it's me and then there would be all sorts of trouble."  
  
"That's not going to happen," Ann assured Sunny Bunny.  
  
"How do you know?" Andy put in. "Have you forgotten that Cracklen is also allergic to Sunny Bunny? How can you be sure he won't sneeze? If that happens then that old wizard will definitely suspect something."  
  
"It won't be for very long," Ann answered. "And besides, Cracklen always sneezes. So don't worry about a thing." She turned to Sunny Bunny. "You will do this, won't you, Sunny Bunny? We'll be close by if you need us."  
  
Sunny Bunny sighed. "I guess so," he replied.  
  
"We only have one more problem," Grouchy Bear reminded them.  
  
"What's that?" Ann asked.  
  
"Where are we going to get wizard's clothes?"  
  
Ann pointed across to a clothesline just a few inches from Cracklen's castle where a blue robe and matching pointed wizard's hat with crescent moons, stars and planets sewn into the material with golden thread were hanging. "Over there!"  
  
Sunny Bunny stood nervously outside the front door of Cracklen's castle, dressed in the blue wizard's cloak. He peered up at the door from underneath the matching pointed wizard's hat, and gulped fearfully. "I'm not so sure I want to do this," he said.  
  
"You'll do fine," Raggedy Ann whispered from behind a nearby bush where she and the others were hiding. "Just tell Cracklen you're a friend of Sammie's from school."  
  
"Okay." Sunny Bunny lifted his paw to the door and knocked.  
  
A moment later the door opened. Sunny Bunny lifted his head and saw Cracklen towering above him. Sunny Bunny, unable to control his shaking, gulped again and asked, "H-hello, Mr. Cracklen. Is-is Sammie home?"  
  
"That depends," replied Cracklen. "Who might you be, young man?"  
  
"Me? I'm a friend of Sammie's from school. I came here because.um.we're working on a project for class and she's my partner."  
  
"That's funny. She didn't say anything to me about a project." Sunny Bunny thought for sure that Cracklen was beginning to get suspicious, but then he added, "Well, maybe she just forgot. She hasn't actually had it easy lately. Well, I suppose I should invite you in." Just when Sunny Bunny was about to step inside, Cracklen put one foot forward, blocking Sunny Bunny's entrance. "One moment. What's your name?"  
  
"My name?" Sunny Bunny looked around nervously, trying desperately to think. "Why it's."  
  
"Timmy," he heard Ann whisper from behind the bush.  
  
"Timmy," he answered.  
  
"Is that so?" Cracklen's voice was more incredulous than ever, but nonetheless he moved to one side and permitted Sunny Bunny to enter. When Cracklen realized that Sunny Bunny did not move, he suddenly became very irritated. "Why are you just standing there? I invited you in so you can either enter or get off my premises!"  
  
"No, that's okay. I'll come in." Sunny Bunny scooted inside and was halfway down the hall when Cracklen shouted after him.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?"  
  
"I was going to look for Sammie."  
  
"Well, you're headed in the wrong direction," Cracklen said. "She's in her room on the other side of the castle. Since you'll probably get lost I'll take you there myself."  
  
As Cracklen led Sunny Bunny down the hall, the wizard said something that both surprised and confused him. "Before I let you into my niece's room, I want you to tell me only one thing."  
  
"What's that, sir?"  
  
"You aren't by any chance that little dunderhead that broke her arm, are you?"  
  
"Huh? No, I'm not."  
  
"For your sake you'd better be telling the truth. Because if you're lying then I give you my word that I'll make you suffer ten times the pain as she did."  
  
Mr. Cracklen really cares about Sammie a lot, Sunny Bunny thought as they continued down the hall. He actually has a heart.  
  
When they arrived at Sammie's bedroom, Cracklen turned to Sunny Bunny and said, "You wait here while I go in and inform her of your presence." Cracklen pushed open the door and went inside the bedroom, closing the door behind him.  
  
Sammie was lying across her bed with her chin resting on the pillow, which was completely soaked from the amount of tears she had cried into it. "They don't know what they're talking about," she said, unaware that Cracklen had entered the room.  
  
"Who doesn't?" he asked, and Sammie looked over her shoulder at him.  
  
"No-no one, Uncle Cracklen," she replied.  
  
"What's this I see?" He proceeded across the room and sat down beside his niece on the bed. "Have you been crying again?"  
  
"No." Sammie sniffed hard. "It's just allergies."  
  
"Oh, come on. You and I both know you don't have allergies. Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong?"  
  
Sammie sat up and nudged closer to Cracklen. He drew his arm around her and pulled her close. "I." Sammie began, "I can't. I'm sorry."  
  
"What? Why on earth not?"  
  
"Because you'll get mad."  
  
"By any chance does this have anything to do with what the people in town and children at school say about me?" Cracklen was looking at Sammie with serious eyes, holding within them a question that she found herself unable to avoid an answer to.  
  
Sammie shrugged. "I guess so. I get so mad when I hear people say nasty things about you-especially things that just aren't true-like today some kids told me that you're evil. I got so angry I told them off."  
  
"Is that why you've been in here all afternoon sobbing?"  
  
Sammie nodded. "I know it makes me seem like a baby."  
  
"Not at all. It only proves that you're very protective of those you care for, and I'm perfectly fine with that. I just don't want you to feel like you have to get all wrapped up in protecting me, because there's always going to be someone who has mean things to say about another. And there's no way you'll be able to prevent that from happening a hundred times over."  
  
"But I don't understand, Uncle Cracklen!" Sammie blurted out. "I just don't get why people act so mean and hurtful to you all the time. What the heck did you ever do to them that would make them make fun of you? Don't these fools know that your allergies aren't something you can control? And they think it's funny! Well, whenever they laugh I start to cry! It hurts me to see you suffering. Sometimes when you're having one of your allergy attacks I feel sick to my stomach. That's how much I care about you, Uncle Cracklen. If I could I'd take away your allergies and give them to myself just so you could feel better-"  
  
"Sammie!" Cracklen suddenly grabbed her by both arms and met her eyes with a gaze so intense that it nearly froze her in place. "Please, don't say that! Don't you ever let me hear you wish such a terrible burden upon yourself again." As uncle and niece continued to stare at one another, Sammie realized that there was something in Cracklen's eyes that she had never seen before: A sparkle. Almost as soon as she had noticed it, she watched as two tears trickled from his eyes and down his cheeks.  
  
Sammie's mouth gaped slightly, and she reached out one small hand to his face. "Uncle Cracklen?" she said, and brushed her fingers gently across his right cheek and felt the warm moist tears. "You're.crying?"  
  
Cracklen, so overcome by his niece's powerful love for him, bent forward where his head collapsed in Sammie's small lap. It wasn't long before he allowed himself to sob freely, where Sammie leaned down and wrapped her arms around him.  
  
Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Sunny Bunny had become aware of the time Cracklen had been inside Sammie's room. He decided to let his curiousness overcome him, and he stepped quietly inside.  
  
What Sunny Bunny saw shocked him. As he stared, astounded, at Cracklen where he had buried his head in Sammie's lap, all the memories of the awful things that the wizard had ever done to him and his friends disappeared. As he continued to gaze, he felt something tug at his heart and he came to realize that everyone had a reason for behaving in a way they did. Something must have happened to Mr. Cracklen in his past, Sunny Bunny thought. Something bad. That's probably why he acts so mean.  
  
However, the moment was soon interrupted when Cracklen lifted his head from Sammie's lap and turned away to sneeze. The sneeze was so powerful, in fact that it managed to blow the wizard's hat clear off Sunny Bunny's head. Just as he had feared, the absence of the hat revealed his ears and as he lifted his paws to try and cover them before Cracklen noticed, a look of fear spread across Sunny Bunny's face.  
  
"You!" Cracklen shouted, and pointed a sharp finger at him. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Sunny Bunny?" Sammie exclaimed.  
  
Cracklen looked at her in astonishment. "You.you know him?" Sammie nodded. "Yes. I met him and his friends in the woods last night."  
  
"I see." Cracklen turned back to Sunny Bunny. "I should have known it was you," he said as he rose up from the bed and walked over to Sunny Bunny, who was by now cowering in fear. "However, I will give you this much: You're disguise was indeed very clever."  
  
"Sunny Bunny," Sammie spoke up, "I think you'd better leave-"  
  
"No!" Cracklen held up one hand. "I have special plans for this one."  
  
"But what about your allergies?"  
  
"Sammie, don't include yourself in things that don't concern you-"  
  
"But Uncle Cracklen-"  
  
"Shut up!" He suddenly turned on Sammie, his eyes red with rage. "Listen to me: When I tell you to be quiet I mean it! Do I make myself clear?"  
  
Sammie, shocked and deeply hurt that her uncle, the one person she cared more about than anyone in the world, would turn on her so suddenly and violently. Her eyes filled with tears, and she leaped off the bed. "So I guess Sunny Bunny and the others were right," she said, trying desperately to control her sobs. "You are an evil wizard. Well, you don't have to worry. I won't get in your way anymore. I'll go back home to Cranberry Knoll and you'll never have to see me again." With that, Sammie raced passed Cracklen and Sunny Bunny, who looked after her, both with expressions of sorrow.  
  
"Sammie," Cracklen called, but she didn't look back. "Sammie, I." The front door slammed. ".I'm sorry."  
  
After a long moment of silence, Cracklen hollered for Tic and Tac, causing Sunny Bunny to jump. Tic and Tac appeared immediately in the doorway, their always-present expressions of deviousness sprawled across their faces.  
  
"You called, your wizardship?" Tic said.  
  
"Yes," Cracklen replied. "Now, here's what I want you to do-"  
  
"Sir!" Tac hollered, pointing at Sunny Bunny. "It's one of the Raggedys."  
  
"Yes, I know!" Cracklen waved this aside. "Forget about him for now. There's something more important that I need you to do."  
  
"He needs you to go and find Sammie," said Sunny Bunny.  
  
"Why, you little-" Cracklen said irritably. "You mean she's missing?" Tic said.  
  
"Again?" added Tac.  
  
They both groaned.  
  
"She keeps us on our toes all day," Tic complained.  
  
"That girl is always getting herself into trouble," whined Tac.  
  
Cracklen placed his hands on his hips. "Well, she's ten years old! What can you expect?"  
  
"Mr. Cracklen?" Sunny Bunny spoke up, and tugged on the wizard's cloak.  
  
"What is it?" His voice was more annoyed than ever.  
  
"Um.I'll help Tic and Tac look for Sammie."  
  
Cracklen sighed. "Since I'm unimaginably worried about her and there's no way on earth I'll ever forgive myself if any harm comes to her, then I suppose I can't say anymore then 'yes.'" 


	4. Chapter 4: Sammie's Ransom

Chapter 4: Sammie's Ransom  
  
  
  
Minx stood looking into her crystal ball where an image of a little girl dressed in a purple wizard's outfit hurried through the dark woods. Bobby was at Minx's side peering into the crystal ball with her, his eyes wide.  
  
"That's her, Grandma!" Bobby exclaimed, pointing at the image in the crystal. "She's the one who got me expelled!"  
  
"I see," Minx replied. "So this little brat is actually the niece of that Cracklen fellow, eh? I've been meaning to have it out with him for some time.ever since that incident at the Annual Witch and Wizard's Cook-Off." She paused, smiling deceitfully. "And this proves the perfect opportunity to take my revenge on him."  
  
Bobby looked at his grandmother, his eyes sharing the same devious gleam as hers. "What are you going to do?"  
  
"You'll see, my boy." Minx patted Bobby's head, continuing to look into the crystal ball at Sammie. "Enjoy your freedom now, my dear, for it will be the last you'll experience for quite some time."  
  
  
  
Sammie, meanwhile, had strayed so far from Cracklen's castle that she could no longer remember how to find her way back. But when she recalled his uncle's burning red eyes and how he had yelled at her, she managed to shake off the fear of becoming lost.  
  
"Uncle Cracklen must really be mad at me," she said. "And I hate to think what he'll say if I go back." Sammie wiped away the tears that were still streaming down her face, and took a deep breath. "Why did he yell at me like that anyway? All I did was let him know how much a care." She sniffed hard. "Maybe he just doesn't like being reminded of his allergies so much."  
  
A loud squawking soon interrupted Sammie's thoughts as a raven suddenly swooped down from the sky. She screamed and tried to duck out of the way as it came zooming toward her, but instead felt herself being scooped up by its sharp claws by the shoulders where it soared high into the air with her. Sammie, now terrified, reached out her arms and hollered, "Help! Uncle Cracklen!"  
  
The raven flew through the darkness, clutching the ecstatic child, who was fidgeting, in its sharp claws that had a tight hold on her. They soon came to a castle shaped like an enormous skeleton. The raven let out a high- pitched cry and then flew into the castle through an open window; it dropped Sammie on the hard stone floor where she landed with a painful 'thud' to her rear.  
  
"Good work," said Minx to the raven as it perched itself on her shoulder. She was standing before Sammie with her arms folded and staring down at her with burning yellow eyes.  
  
"Ouch," Sammie said, getting to her feet and rubbing the area that had met with the floor. "That hurt." Once the pain had subsided, she noticed that the place she found herself in was one she didn't recognize in the least. After taking a moment to look around, she turned to Minx and asked, "Hey, what is this place?"  
  
"My dear," Minx replied, "I think you'll find it quite an honor that this just happens to be my castle." She paused, examining the uneasy look on the little girl's face. "May I ask your name?"  
  
"I.it's Sammie. Sammie De Spell."  
  
Minx nodded. "And quite a lovely name at that." She extended her hand to Sammie. "I am Minx."  
  
Sammie acknowledged Minx's hand and smiled uncomfortably. "H.hello."  
  
"Tell me this: Do you have.an uncle?"  
  
Sammie, thinking that the answer behind the question was just another excuse for someone to mock Cracklen, scowled and released her hand from Minx's. "Why?" Sammie said suspiciously.  
  
"Why not? It's only a simple question with a simple answer. There's no reason to be afraid."  
  
Sammie glared at Minx.  
  
"Listen to me," Minx said, suddenly very impatient. "I know for a fact that you are related to Cracklen, and I can tell very easily that you share his stubbornness as well. I had my raven bring you here to me because holding you captive is the only way I'll be able to persuade that fool, Cracklen, to give me what I want."  
  
"Hey!" Sammie shouted. "How dare you refer to my uncle as a fool!" She sprung foreword and stamped her foot down on top of Minx's as hard as she could. Minx held her aching foot with both hands and jumped up and down in pain. "You're the fool, you old bat!"  
  
"You little ingrate! How dare you call me that!" Then Minx shouted, "Bobby, get in here!" Bobby appeared a moment later, and when he saw Sammie his jaw dropped. "You? What are you doing here?" He looked at Minx with pleading eyes. "Grandma, what's she-"  
  
"Hush, Bobby. Just go and get the cage."  
  
"Yes, ma'am." He skulked out of the room and came back carrying a small, wire-mesh cage. He set it down at Minx's feet.  
  
"Now put her in it."  
  
Bobby's face filled with disbelief. "What? Me? Are you serious?"  
  
"Don't you dare touch me," Sammie warned him.  
  
"Honestly, Bobby," Minx sighed. "You can't even follow a simple order. How do you ever expect to become a wizard?" Before Sammie had a chance to escape, Minx scooped her up by the shoulders and tossed her carelessly into the cage where she slid to the back and banged her head against the cold bars.  
  
"Do you have to be so rough?" demanded Sammie, sitting up.  
  
"Be quiet," Minx snapped.  
  
"She's always getting roughed up, Grandma," Bobby explained. "She asks for it at school every day."  
  
"That's just because of you," Sammie said.  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
Sammie stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"Will you two be quiet?" Minx snapped, and both Sammie and Bobby stopped their bickering at once. "I'm going into the dungeon to write a ransom letter to Cracklen. Bobby, I want you to keep an eye on this brat until I get back."  
  
"Please don't make me deliver the letter to him," whined Bobby. "It's so far and I don't feel like going-"  
  
"Oh, quit complaining! Of course I'm not appointing you for such a task. I'm sending my raven with the letter to Cracklen's castle. All I need you to do is make sure that his little wretch of a niece doesn't escape, and she had better not or else you won't get any allowance this week." Without another word, Minx turned and exited the room.  
  
  
  
"I can't believe Sunny Bunny actually talked us into helping that creep, Cracklen," Andy whined as he and the others trudged alongside Tic and Tac through the woods.  
  
"Don't think of this as helping Cracklen," admonished Ann. "Remember, we're going to look for Sammie."  
  
Andy sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."  
  
"I know!" Sunny Bunny exclaimed suddenly. He reached into the pocket of his trousers and pulled out his magic pen. "We can ask the pen where Sammie is."  
  
"That's a great idea, Sunny Bunny," Ann said. "Hurry and ask it something."  
  
"All right." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Pen, do you know where Sammie is?"  
  
Sunny Bunny and his friends, along with Tic and Tac, watched in as the pen leaped from his paws and wrote across the sky: Yes, I have the answer.  
  
"Well, that doesn't provide us with much help does it?" Tic said irritably.  
  
"We don't have time to waste on a silly pen," added Tac. "Either you Raggedys help us find Sammie or we go on without you. Cracklen's in no mood to have us return without her. So, what's it going to be?"  
  
Sunny Bunny turned to the two henchmen, his face filled with despair. He refocused his attention on the pen and said, "Will you take us to where Sammie is?"  
  
They all watched the pen as it wrote across the ground, Yes, I will. It then scribbled a second message, which read: Come on, this way, with three arrows (( ( () pointing down the path leading further into the woods.  
  
"It wants us to go this way," advised Sunny Bunny. The pen shot through the air into the woods where Sunny Bunny and the others hurried after it.  
  
  
  
Cracklen was sitting in the armchair of the library, which was dimly lit, with an open photo album spread across his lap. In it was pictures of him as a child, as well as a few with Sammie. As he turned the pages, his eyes caught sight of a picture of a little girl with a round smiling face and hair the color of gold. She wore a short-sleeved blouse with a black ribbon and pleated skirt. Her head sported a black witch's hat. She had her arm around a miserable-looking little boy dressed in a blue cloak whose long nose stuck out from underneath a blue wizard's hat. Cracklen ran his long fingers over the photograph as a single tear splashed on top of the little girl's cheek. "Gabriella," he whispered. A loud tapping at his window soon interrupted Cracklen, causing him to grunt petulantly as he rose from the chair. He set the photo album down on an end table beside the chair, and approached the window. There he found a raven clutching an envelope in his beak.  
  
"A raven?" Cracklen said surprisingly. "But only Minx-" Without hesitation he opened the window and the raven flew into the castle, perching itself on a coat hook on the other side of the room. Cracklen scowled as he joined it and snatched the letter out of its beak. "Well, let's see what your mistress has brought, shall we?" He tore open the envelope and read the contents of the letter:  
  
Cracklen,  
  
By now you have probably figured out that your niece is nowhere to be found, and I am quite pleased to inform you that she is in my keep. Therefore, you have nothing to worry about. That is, of course, as long as you do exactly as I say. But I believe that you'll find my following requests quite adequate indeed.  
  
1). I want you to explain to The Blue Mountain School for Wizards and Witches that it was Sammie who is responsible for the fight and not Bobby.  
  
2). Your magic wand.  
  
Sincerely Yours,  
  
Minx  
  
P.S.: If you fail to meet all or only one of these requirements, I can guarantee you that you'll never see that brat of yours again so I suggest that you think very hard on what you plan to do. You have twenty-four hours to decide.  
  
  
  
"Darn that old hag!" Cracklen shouted as he banged his fist into his open palm. He stormed over to his desk and shoved several cluttering items to one side where they fell noisily to the floor. "So she thinks she can hold my niece for ransom, does she? Well, we'll just see about that!" He pulled open one of the desk's drawers and removed a pen and paper. He then wrote:  
  
Minx,  
  
Since I am writing you can easily guess that I received your letter. Why else on earth would I waste my time writing to such a despicable creature such as you? I will make this perfectly clear to you right now: I want my niece back and I want to know that she is safe in her own bed before the night is over. I think you know that your blunder of a grandson is responsible for the fight at The Blue Mountain School for Wizards and Witches, but you are just too stubborn to admit it. You think Bobby is so perfect that he could never do anything wrong, but guess what? You couldn't be more wrong. Did he even think to mention that he and his little hooligans were responsible for breaking Sammie's wrist? If I were you I'd ask him about it immediately. I sent Tic and Tac to get Sammie and when they return she had better be with them or I shall be forced to take drastic action.  
  
Cracklen  
  
Cracklen folded the letter, stuck it in an envelope and handed it to the raven. "Take this to Minx," he said, and then watched the raven as it flew through the window and out into the night.  
  
  
  
That's it for now. So, what do you think? Much different from the CBS version, huh? Isn't it so sweet the way Sammie sticks up for Cracklen? Awww! ^_^ Let me know what you think and if the reviews are good I'll be sure to post more asap! 


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